Ultimate Weapons
by Zachere
Summary: Challenge fic. Ehrgeiz x Save the Queen. I was really proud of this when I wrote it. Looking back, I have no idea why. Also I was still in my 'everything must be romance' stage I think. Hm.


  
Exeter would have loved it, but she wasn't there. Too bad, because if there's anything Ex craves more than fights, it's surprises. And let me tell you, I've seen a lot of both in my time, but I've never been as dumbfounded as I was that day in the Deep Sea Research Center, far beyond sunlight and wind.   
Water. Just the word makes me want to shrink. Water is bad for leather, salt water doubly so. So it's not surprising that I wasn't feeling too hot in there, sensing the water pressing against the sides of the structure, feeling its desire to break in with a roar and smash as many things to bits as it could before it lost its momentum. Even worse was the fact that Zell didn't like it either. His nervousness played on mine, making me almost wish that our bond wasn't so strong. If our relationship had been more like the one Star had with Rinoa, I wouldn't have been nearly as miserable. Well, I had to wonder about that, given the morose character of that weapon. **Bad enough that my partner is always so happy, **he'd said to me once. **Bad enough that she upgraded me and stuck these idiotic feathers all over me. No, no, I also have to make that moronic sound whenever she uses me. With anyone else, it would be a nice graceful _spock_. But of course, my partner is a damned weakling, so**- _SPANG!_ I was saved from listening further as Rinoa launched him. The thought of that _spang_ always made me wish I had lips to smile with, though.   
No, I don't have lips. I'm Ehrgeiz, proud weapon of choice for the legendary martial artist, Zell Dincht. Some other weapons might tell you that gloves aren't really weapons, but I'd say that it's not that I'm not a weapon- it's that I'm not a crutch. Hyne knows Irvine and Squall would be helpless without their bullet-launchers.   
That's not to say that I don't like Ex or Lionheart. Ex knows hundreds of jokes, never stops with the witty banter. Always good for a laugh, especially when the thoughts of our partners get really boring. And Lionheart inspires an almost boundless respect from me. Nearly awe, after the Research Center.   
Our humans had been wandering, looking for treasure and for fights. All of us enjoyed the fighting, except for Star, perhaps, but we were bored. We wanted to go and battle that sorceress our owners were always buzzing about in the privacy of their heads, but understood that training was necessary for victory. Well, most of us. Strange Vision just wanted to go, go, _go_. But she was always like that, preferring action to thoughts.   
So we descended into the lower depths of the Research Center, Zell's sweat dampening me before we even descended to the second level. Lionheart was silent, as usual. I didn't even know if it was male or female; it hadn't spoken to any of us thus far. And Save the Queen, she, that beautiful work of art hung coiled at the side of the Instructor, she was also silent.   
(Man, I don't like being underground. I wonder how far down we are?) Zell's thought wasn't very comforting.   
**Listen to that**, Queen said, piping up for the first time that day.   
All at once, I could hear it too. A humming sound. We were on the very bottom level now. Through Zell's eyes I watched as Leonhart stepped toward a massive control panel. I had a bad feeling about this. But what could I do? I can't communicate with Zell in any normal fashion.   
Alarms began to sound, and Zell's hands clenched, stretching me tightly across his knuckles. He sensed a fight coming. So did I.   
**Ready, sweetheart? **Queen didn't reply in words, just a burst of affection that was almost a caress, and a feeling of anticipation.   
I waited impatiently for the chain to finish bringing up our opponent out of the depths.   
(What the hell is that? It's huge!) My thought exactly, Zell.   
Seeing the monster- no, the Weapon, I wondered if we were strong enough. Weapons don't fear death. We fear being lost, dropped in the sea, stuck under a bed, forgotten. Unable to perform our duty. I wondered if this day would leave the three- the six of us lost down here for eternity.   
But then the three humans stepped toward the huge construct, Squall unsheathing Lionheart, Quistis unwinding Queen and snapping her briskly. Zell cracked his knuckles, an action that I enjoyed immensely, and stretched his hands out.   
The fight began, and it was a doozy.   
The three humans fought smoothly at first, instinctively aware of their places and their tasks in battle. They were so sensitive to each other that I wondered again why they couldn't sense us.   
I could feel the blood flowing fast through Zell's hands when the first surprise came, in the form of a blast of light. Squall was caught squarely in it, and gave up consciousness without even a murmur, falling back and hitting the ground almost silently.   
(The light!) Zell cried out silently, and the blood in his body raced. He attacked again, mastering panic, and sparks flew as my metal studs kissed cold armor.   
Quistis showered Squall with a fall of green light, and he stumbled to his feet and caught his balance.   
I can't tell you how long we fought that monstrosity. It felt like centuries. Each of the humans fell multiple times, only to be dragged back up by the others. After a while, Zell's thoughts slowed, became numb, even as his body moved faster. It's his gift, trading thought for instinct, and it works wonders every time he gets enough into a fight to use it. But this time, it almost wasn't enough. He was just faltering when I gave him as much of a push as I could. As I said before, I can't communicate with Zell. But there comes a time when his mind is silent and his body is exhausted, and my one form communication comes through in a desperate blaze of light.   
He gathered himself for a moment, and then we were rushing up to the Ultima Weapon, spinning, punching, kicking, all of it happening so fast the whole world was a blur. This was what I lived for. Finally, Zell ran out of energy, and stumbled back to their chosen battle line.   
And the Weapon fell, screaming in a mind-shattering way, crumbling into dust right before our eyes.   
**You're amazing. **Queen's thought was so tiny and exhausted that it was almost a whisper.   
**Takes amazing to know amazing, **I shot back at her cheerfully, thinking again how lucky I was. Weapons are spared the organic messiness of sex, but this doesn't mean that we can't love. I like to think that it just makes it a given that love is true, not merely a product of glands. Queen and I had spoken for each other not long after we met.   
"Squall!" Quistis's cry rang out like a shot, and Zell's head snapped toward the sound. Squall had fallen to one knee and was swaying unsteadily. It looked as if he were considering taking an extended nap on the cold rough floor of the Research Center.   
But before anyone could do anything, Zell cried, "Watch out!"   
We were attacked again, this time by a Ruby Dragon. A Ruby is generally the toughest monster around, although nothing compared to the Weapon we had just fought. However, all three humans were exhausted. I could feel the dull ache running through Zell's body; he could barely stand up straight. And Zell had seen the trickle of blood leaking from Squall's mouth. This was seriously bad.   
All at once Queen and I heard a mental growl. **Leave us alone, **a new voice rumbled, and Squall rose to his feet, holding Lionheart in front of him. Quistis and Zell stared, surprised, and we weapons watched through their eyes.   
It began. Squall raced silently up to the dragon, and I could pick out the clicks of the trigger heralding the crash of gunfire. Two, six, eight, a very good attack on Squall's part. The dragon roared with anger and pain, and Squall returned to our line in a rush.   
But he wasn't done. He stood mutely, eyes closed, as wisps of warm light spiraled around him and up into the air. None of us had ever seen this before. As Lionheart flared incandescent, Zell's hands relaxed in shock.   
For the second time in perhaps a minute, Squall approached the dragon. He rushed up to it so quickly that Zell's eyes barely registered it, and this time the dragon _screamed. _The blows came so fast that not only could I not make out Squall as anything more than a blur of black leather, I could not count the hits as I normally did. Lionheart glowed again, and a swat from him knocked the dragon, wailing, high into the air. It landed on its head and I heard the _snap_ and the sudden silence of the dragon. Even if it could have survived the immense damaged dealt by Lionheart, it would never have been able to survive a broken neck.   
Squall leapt back to his place, and Zell finally shut his mouth. It had been hanging open a good minute at least. I felt the exact same way. And now I had a new worry. Lionheart was unmistakably masculine, and I knew there was no way I could pull off an attack that rivaled his. I felt small and worried all at once. What did Queen think?   
"Tch. Couldn't you have done that earlier?"   
"Sorry," Squall said sarcastically, and passed out.   
"Nice, Zell," said Quistis. "Instead of helping him, you just make fun of him. Hold this," and she tossed Save the Queen at Zell. He caught her reflexively, blushing with shame as Quistis bent over Squall, green magic falling from her gloved fingertips.   
**I've got you now, my lovely. Right in my clutches. **I tried not to let my sudden feeling of inadequacy color my thoughts.   
**Right where I've always wanted to be,** Queen replied quietly, and I knew that I didn't have anything to fear. 


End file.
